To every cloud there is a silver lining, or so the saying goes. The mouse with the penchant for bottle capsules necessitated the removal of my wine from under the stairs and a long overdue sort through. My week's drinking wines became a rather more varied selection than usual.
First up was a 2004 Kooyong Chardonnay, bought on a quick visit down to the Mornington after the MW seminar a few years back. Kooyong has established a pretty good reputation for fine reds and whites so it was one of the first places we visited. No disappointment either – a series of interesting and rather elegant wines across the board. The most surprising thing about the Mornington visit (for me, anyway) was how such a small area managed to produce good wines from such a large array of varieties – it seemed surprising to taste excellent chardonnay and pinot noir alongside fully-ripe and characterful cabernet sauvignon and syrah. The various macroclimates of the peninsula are no doubt a contributing factor, but one is also struck by the dedication and passion of many of the producers. The 2004 Kooyong Chardonnay is still pale and very fresh, with an attractive creamy biscuit nose and plenty of crisp stonefruit. The palate was delicate, medium-bodied and showing fine balance and length. I wished I had found the room for a few more bottles in my suitcase.
The mouse had seemed particularly partial to Clonakilla’s capsules so I thought that was a good excuse to broach one of six bottles of the 2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier. Hmmm. I was left wishing the mouse had gone one step further and actually drunk the wine for me. While I am not bothered by a bit of Brettanomyces, this was several clop-clops too far for even me. Sadly, the wine’s fruit was completely obscured and there was a really dry, metallic tang to the palate. There was also enough acidity in this bottle to make a Piedmontese run screaming and substantial chunky tartrates throughout, though interestingly this too high acid did not show up in a subsequent bottle I have opened. Sadly though, the brett was still very much in force so I think the remaining bottles could be destined for a few slow-cooked stews rather than drinking. Feeling slightly alarmed by this turn of events, I opened the 2005 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier (this vintage under screwcap) and was rewarded with a delicious, quite complex rich and aromatic wine. A light touch of brett to be sure, but enough to give just a feral lift and in no way detracting from the ripe fruit and textural palate. Very much an Australian wine, but perhaps softer and lighter than its South Australian brethren (Crozes as opposed to Hermitage to draw the dreaded yet seemingly inevitable OW comparisons). In this case, I am looking forward to opening the remaining bottles and feel in no particular hurry to do so – looks like a bottle a year over the next five years or so will only yield greater dividends.
A gift of some excellent chorizo meant a good reason to open a 1996 Chivite Reserva Colección 125, a tempranillo-dominant Navarra. Bodegas Julian Chivite seems to produce consistently excellent wines across a wide range of styles and though I often drink its rosé, it has been a few years since I last tried this particular wine. This bottle was a cracker, completely belying the 13 years under its belt, looking succulent and damn delicious. Complex and with plenty of personality, it was a great match with the chorizo and surprisingly drinkable in the glass on its own. Very rich and spicy though never over the top, this is a wine in its prime and I shall keep an eye out for further bottles that may still be lurking about the place.
Further shuffling through the boxes revealed to my surprise that I had six bottles of 2006 Dry River Late Harvest Riesling. I don’t usually order six bottles of any Dry River wine, preferring a mixed bag, so I am not sure if it was a rush of blood to the head on my behalf, or a mixed up order on theirs, but as I have the bad habit of just shoving the boxes in the cupboard when they arrive without checking the contents, I shall never know. Either way, it is no tragedy as it is a lovely wine indeed, and drinking very nicely at present. It is Late Harvest in an almost German manner, I suppose, as its poise and acidity take it beyond the more typical exclusively dessert-style examples one sees here in NZ and give a wine that really asks to be drunk as an aperitif (and would be good with pâté or blue cheese) or as a palate cleanser at the end of a rich meal, before the pudding. Whatever, it is really good, very elegant and pure, lots of citrus fruit and white flowers and very fresh crunchy green apples. Showing some mineral/beeswax/kero notes with bottle age I am looking forward to drinking the rest, and am now rethinking my manner of ordering from Dry River in the future.
All in all, a fairly cheerful week’s drinking in the verdant countryside of Taupo. I am beginning to realize that haphazard purchasing and an absentminded cellaring approach can, when combined with determinedly nibbly rodents, yield some interesting wines. And as they are all still scattered around the spare room awaiting sorting and re-storage, dinners are at the moment are good fun indeed.
Browse articles by author or topic